JPS6345535B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a measuring device for chemical analysis, particularly to a measuring device for electrophoretic analysis.

Electrophoretic analysis has been used in a wide range of fields as an effective means for separating, purifying, and quantitatively measuring substances. In particular, its use in the field of clinical testing, such as protein fraction analysis, isozyme analysis, and lipid analysis, is remarkable. Quantitative analysis using electrophoresis involves the following steps: electrophoresis, staining, decolorization, drying, and photometry, but these may vary depending on the type of support used and the purpose of analysis. When a cellulose acetate membrane is used, the support deformed by drying is made transparent with a clarifying liquid, and then the separated images are measured using a densitometer. As a method for measuring such partial images of a support, the applicant has proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 54-43920 a method of photoelectric detection while the support is immersed in a clarifying liquid. Since the support is held horizontally, air bubbles are easily trapped and it is also difficult to remove minute air bubbles. Furthermore, in a fully automatic electrophoresis analyzer, air bubbles are more likely to enter and are difficult to remove. When air bubbles are generated and measured, a densitogram pattern due to the air bubbles is detected.
The analysis result becomes an abnormal value and the correct analysis cannot be performed. Furthermore, the transparent plate that supports the support in the photometry section is also horizontal, so that "dust" attached to the support, "dust" in the air, and "dust" in the clarifying liquid accumulates on the horizontal transparent plate. This will cause abnormalities in the analysis results. As described above, in the method described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 54-43920, the analytical results were adversely affected by the adhesion of air bubbles and the contamination of "dust" caused by the deformation of the support. The applicant has further disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 56-49747 a measuring device that is improved in this respect. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a colorimetric determination device of this electrophoresis device. Clearing liquid 2 is placed in a container 1 with a concave center and a U- or V-shaped cross section.
satisfy. This container 1 has an inlet end 1a of a support 3,
It consists of an outlet end 1b, a bottom part 1c located lower than these, and an inclined part 1e connecting this bottom part to the inlet end 1a and the outlet end 1b. The container 1 is made of a transparent material such as acrylic, or only the measuring section provided with an optical system, which will be described later, is made of a transparent material. A pair of rollers 4 are provided below the liquid level of this inclined portion 1e, sandwiching the conveyance path of the support 3. Further, an optical system is arranged behind the roller 4 on the inclined portion 1e. Particularly, the prism 5, slit 6, and light receiving element 7 of this optical system are installed immediately after the roller 4 of the inclined portion 1e, so that their optical paths are perpendicular to the support 3. Further, the optical system can be scanned in the width direction of the support 3 by a drive mechanism (not shown).

A pair of drive rollers 8, 9 are provided at the front and rear of the container 1 having the above structure, and a pair of driven rollers 10, 11 are provided which follow these drive rollers 8, 9 by friction, gears, etc., respectively. These drive rollers 8,
9 and roller 4 are driven by a drive motor (not shown) or the like so that the circumferential speed of each roller is constant, so that support 3 is not damaged due to slack or tension within container 1. According to the colorimetric determination apparatus having such a configuration, after electrophoresis, the dyed, decolorized and dried support 3 is inserted into the container 1 by the rollers 8 and 10 on the inlet end 1a side and immersed in the clarifying liquid 2. The support 3 is made transparent from its tip.
The support body 3 is further pressed against the rollers 4 and conveyed between the rollers 4 and advanced toward the inclined portion 1e. Therefore, air bubbles adhering to the support 3 cannot pass between the rollers 4 and are removed. Furthermore, irregularities, warpage, etc. of the support itself can be corrected and a uniform planar state can be achieved.
Next, the partial image of the support 3 is subjected to colorimetric determination using an optical system. At this time, since the optical system is installed on the inclined part, "dust" etc. that enter the clarifying liquid will be removed from the bottom 1c of the container 1.
It is possible to effectively prevent measurement errors caused by "dust" etc. However, there are still problems with such devices. That is, since the support 3 obliquely enters the clarifying liquid 2, it may not be possible to sufficiently remove minute air bubbles. Also, the "garbage" brought into the clarifying liquid 2 is removed from the container 1 holding the clarifying liquid 2.
Because it accumulates at the bottom of the container, it does not contaminate the transparent part of the measuring section, but the support after measurement passes through the bottom and is discharged, so it adsorbs the "dust" that has accumulated at the bottom and exits the container 1. It turns out. Support body 3 that came out
has "dust" attached to it, and when visually observing the electrophoretic image or remeasuring this support, the attached "dust" may give erroneous results. In addition, in Fig. 1, the outlet side half is the support body 3.
It has little functional role other than exiting, and only occupies extra space, which tends to increase the size of the device. Further, one end of the support 3 is connected to the inlet end 1 of the container 1.
a or outlet end 1b, the clarifying liquid 2 is in the container 1
Since the support material rises along the inner wall of the support member, the inner wall surface at the entrance/exit end becomes wet, making it difficult to transport the support material. Furthermore, when making corrections to the analysis results once output, that is, manually correcting the number and position of output fractionation points, in order to keep the support 3 in the same position for a long time, the lower side of the outlet end 1b of the container 1 is There was also a drawback that the support 3 and the inner wall surface became wet with the clarifying liquid 2 and adhered to each other, making it impossible to transfer the support 3 smoothly.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks, prevents the occurrence of analysis abnormal values due to "dust" and air bubbles by holding the support in a vertical direction, and is a measuring device for electrophoretic analysis that can be configured more compactly. The purpose is to provide the following.

The present invention uses a light source that irradiates measurement light onto the support while the support is immersed in a clarifying liquid, and a light source that irradiates the support with measurement light while the support is immersed in a clarifying solution, and a light source that transmits or reflects light from the support. In a measuring device that detects light using an optical detection means comprising a photoelectric receiver arranged to receive light, means is provided for holding the support vertically in the clarifying liquid at a detection position by the optical detection means. It is characterized by:

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of an embodiment of the measuring device for electrophoretic analysis of the present invention. The support 21 develops and separates the specimen by electrophoresis and stains, decolorizes, and
The drying process has been completed. This support 2
This method attempts to carry out colorimetric measurements of the electrophoretic images of each sample on 1. The support body 21 is connected to a drive roller 22 and a driven roller 23 driven by a drive device (not shown).
The container 24 is transported vertically from above to below. The container 24 is filled with a liquid for making the support 21 transparent, that is, a transparentizing liquid 25. When the support 21 is a cellulose acetate film, the clarifying liquid 25 is generally decalin or liquid paraffin.
The support 21 placed in the container 24 is vertically put into the clarifying liquid 25 from the tip thereof to be made transparent. Clarifying liquid 25
The drive roller 26 and driven roller 27 inside press the support 21 and transport it further downward. It is necessary to rotate these rollers 26, 27 and the aforementioned rollers 22, 23 so that their circumferential speeds are equal. Since the support 21 is pressed against the support 21 by the rollers 26 and 27, air bubbles adhering to the support are removed from the support. The support body 21 is further conveyed downward and reaches the photometry position 28 . At least the container 24 in this position
is made of a transparent material. Here, the light source 29,
An optical system consisting of a lens 30, a filter 31, a slit 32, a light receiving element 33, etc. measures the electrophoretic image on the support. Therefore, if the developing direction of the electrophoretic image is perpendicular to the plane of the paper, the optical system is also driven in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper to scan the electrophoretic image to be measured. The signal obtained at this time is sent to the arithmetic circuit 34, the recorder outputs an analog pattern of the electrophoretic image, and the printer outputs the percentage of each fraction. When the measurement of one sample is completed, the support body 21 is further moved downward by the drive of the roller, and the next sample is moved to the photometry position 28 and photometered therein. These operations are repeated in sequence, and when the measurement of all samples is completed, the driving rollers 22, 26 and the driven rollers 23, 27
is rotated in the opposite direction, and the support body 21 is conveyed in the upward direction of the double arrow and discharged from the container 24. At this time, the "garbage" brought into the container 24 sinks to the bottom. When replacing the clarifying liquid 25 or removing accumulated "garbage",
The plug 35 is removed and the liquid is drained from the drain port 36.

The effects of the measuring device of the present invention described above are as follows.

(a) Air bubbles are less likely to adhere to the support than when the support is held horizontally or diagonally, and adhering air bubbles can be removed more easily by pressure contact with rollers.

(b) The "dust" mixed in the clarifying liquid accumulates at the bottom of the container, but the support does not go to areas where "dust" is concentrated, so the support does not get dirty after measurement. That is, erroneous results will not be produced during visual observation or re-measurement after measurement.

(c) The device occupies less space than when measuring with the support horizontal.

(d) In conventional equipment, one end of the support is the inlet of the container;
Or, if it is at the outlet, the clarification liquid rises through the support and the inner wall of the clarification liquid container.
In some cases, the inner wall surface of the entrance and exit became wet, making it difficult to transfer the support. However, in the measuring device of the present invention, the support is suspended without touching the inner wall of the container, so the clarifying liquid does not enter between the support and the wall, and there is no problem such as difficulty in transporting the support. Does not occur. Furthermore, this means that the time that the support remains in the clarification solution can be extended, which is why it is necessary to correct the analytical results of the sample once measured (of the outputted fractionation points) for the above-mentioned reasons. Manual correction of number and position)
Previously, only one sample could be produced per sheet of support, but now it is possible to produce any number of samples.

(e) With conventional measuring devices, a large amount of clarifying liquid is carried out in the support when the support after measurement is taken out of the container, but by using a vertical configuration, the amount of clarifying liquid is reduced. The amount taken out will decrease. This not only eliminates waste of clarifying fluid, but also reduces the diffusion of volatile hazardous substances such as decalin into the examination room, which has a great effect on environmental hygiene.

As mentioned above, the vertical type chemical analysis measuring device of the present invention is not only effective as a single function, but is particularly effective when incorporated as part of a fully automatic analyzer.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified and changed in many ways. for example,
The irradiated light from the light source can be made to enter the transparent part of the container that holds the support vertically and enter the light receiving element using the support as a reflective surface, or the light source can be placed on one side of the container to prevent light from the light source. It is also possible to transmit the irradiated light through the support, to receive the light flux by arranging a mirror tilted with respect to the optical axis on the side opposite to the light source, and to input the reflected light to the light receiving element. Further, it is also possible to scan the support in the container by moving the container itself without using the driving means of the optical system. Furthermore, it is also possible to spot-irradiate the support with light emitted from a light source, or to arrange a photoelectric receiver to receive light from a minute spot on the support.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional colorimetric determination device for electrophoresis, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of an embodiment of the measuring device for electrophoresis analysis of the present invention. 21... Support body, 22... Drive roller, 23...
Driven roller, 24... Container, 25... Clarifying liquid,
26... Drive roller, 27... Followed roller, 28
...Photometering position, 29...Light source, 30...Lens,
31...filter, 32...slit, 33...
Light receiving element, 34... Arithmetic circuit, 35... Plug, 36
...Drain port.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A light source that irradiates the support with measurement light while the support is immersed in a clarifying solution, and a light source that irradiates the support with measurement light while the support is immersed in a clarifying solution, and a light source that emits the transmitted light or reflected light from the support, are used to analyze the fractionation pattern developed on the support used for analysis by electrophoresis. In a measuring device that detects with an optical detection means comprising a photoelectric receiver arranged to receive light, a means is provided for holding the support vertically in the clarifying liquid at a detection position by the optical detection means. A measuring device for electrophoretic analysis characterized by: